Moore's goal in OT lifts Exeter over Central York

Reading Eagle

Senior midfielder Cory Moore knocked home a free kick from 20 yards, sending defending champion Exeter to a dramatic overtime victory over Central York in a District 3 Class AAA preliminary match at York Monday night.

The 21st-seeded Eagles (8-7-2) beat the No. 12 Panthers (13-7) in a district opener for a second straight year, and advanced to a first-round match at fifth-seeded Hershey Thursday night.

It was a particularly satisfying victory for young Exeter, which has spent the season in a state of sometimes-painful transition from last year's senior-laden county and district championship squad.

"To not give up on the season when districts come around, and to go get a win, shows a lot of heart," said Eagles coach Chris Farrell.

Moore also assisted on one of two Michael Palacios goals, which helped Exeter stay even through regulation.

•Wilson 2, McCaskey 1 (OT): At Shillington, Bradley Vanino won a scramble in front of the net and fed Chris Panagacos, who poked it in with two minutes remaining in the first overtime to help the No. 11 Bulldogs (13-4-4) survive a serious scare against the No. 22 Red Tornado (9-10).

This is the fifth straight year Wilson has won its district opener. But it wasn't easy.

After 69 scoreless minutes, McCaskey struck first, pouncing on a Wilson misplay and turning it into a 1-0 lead.

It stayed that way until two minutes remained in regulation. Vanino served a corner that Shayne McIntosh headed home to tie it.

"It was a true survive-and-advance game," said Wilson coach Tim Fick, whose team heads to No. 6 Hempfield for a first-round match Thursday at 4 p.m.

•Mechanicsburg 1, Daniel Boone 0: At Reiffton, Austin Martz scored the game's lone goal off a feed from David Strausbaugh with 5:13 to play in the first half, and the No. 17 Wildcats (13-6) held off the No. 16 Blazers (12-6-3).

Boone's Eric Royer had a chance to tie the match with five minutes to play, but Mechanicsburg's Shane Cowoski robbed him with a diving save of a 12-yard rocket.

•Cumberland Valley 3, Gov. Mifflin 0: At Mechanicsburg, the game Mustangs (9-8), the field's 24th and final seed, played the No. 9 Eagles (14-5) to a scoreless tie through 67 minutes before Cumberland Valley scored three times in a late five-minute stretch.

Nick Vogel broke the deadlock on an unassisted goal that bounced off the crossbar and deflected off Mifflin's keeper with 12:53 to play. Within the next 4:48, Jared Martinelli and Colton Storm had scored to secure things for CV, which will play at No. 8 Conestoga Valley Thursday.

"It was just a great effort by us," said Mustangs coach Brent Fenstermacher. "To go to (13) minutes left zero-zero is a great accomplishment for us as a 24 seed."

Class AA

•Northern Lebanon 3, Brandywine Heights 2: At Topton, Ryan Comiskey converted a controversial penalty kick with just over five minutes to go, completing his hat trick and providing the game-winning goal for the 21st-seeded Vikings (10-9).

The No. 12 Bullets (11-8-1) ended a disappointing season in frustrating fashion despite a solid performance in which David Moseley scored twice to help compensate for the absence of two injured starters.

"We battled," said Brandywine Heights coach Steve Heebner. "We fought. Even though we lost, we played one of our better games of the year."

•Elco 6, Oley Valley 3: At Myerstown, Freddy Shaak scored three of his five goals in the opening 20 minutes and the 13th-seeded Raiders (10-6-1) rolled against the No. 20 Lynx (9-8-2).

"We gave three goals up in the first 20 minutes," said Lynx coach Shawn Meals, "and you're not gonna overcome that."

•West York 3, Hamburg 2 (OT): At York, the last-seeded Hawks (9-10) gave the No. 9 Bulldogs (13-4-2) all they could handle, but fell six minutes into overtime when West York's Kyle Toth scored off a corner-kick scramble.

Jeler Mendez assisted on both Hamburg goals, by Kyle Pursell and Jere Essig, as Hamburg surprised the much-bigger Bulldogs by taking an early 1-0 lead.

"We had nothing to lose," said Hawks coach Chris Zalasky, "and our kids came out and we weren't intimidated by them whatsoever."